3DMark v2.3.3663 Adds Vulkan Support

Futuremark has announced that the latest version of its benchmarking tool, 3DMark, has added support for the Vulkan API. Vulkan is a relatively new 3D graphics API, developed as a successor to OpenGL by Khronos and derived from AMD’s Mantle, which boasts high efficiency through low-level GPU access. In adopting Vulkan as part of its API Overhead test, though, 3DMark v2.3.3663 has ditched Mantle support, which may aggravate a section of its core userbase.

API Overhead allows users to compare Vulkan, DirectX 12, and DirectX 11 API performance on your PC, assuming your system is able to run them. The feature will be included with the Advanced and Professional versions of 3DMark.

“The 3DMark API Overhead feature test measures API performance by making a steadily increasing number of draw calls,” Futuremark says. “The result of the test is the number of draw calls per second achieved by each API before the frame rate drops below 30 FPS.”

“The purpose of the test is to compare the relative performance of different APIs on a single system,” the company explains. “The API Overhead feature test is not a general-purpose GPU benchmark, and it should not be used to compare graphics cards from different vendors. For more details, please read our 3DMark Technical Guide.”

“The API Overhead feature test is available now in 3DMark Advanced Edition and Professional Edition,” the announcement adds. “Standalone versions will prompt you to download and install the update. On Steam, 3DMark updates automatically. The API Overhead feature test is not available in 3DMark Basic Edition or the Steam demo. Note also that the Vulkan test replaces the Mantle test found in previous versions.”

3DMark v2.3.3663 can be downloaded from the official website.